Avengers Age of Ultron teaser trailer review

Marvel debuts the Avengers Age of Ultron teaser trailer a week earlier than planned due to a leak. So here we are, let’s talk about it.

I will never look at this scene
the same again.

Wow. That was dark. So so dark. At first glance, some people may not like it as it was so different to the tone in the first Avengers. Following the steps of ‘The Empire Strikes Back’, ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’ and even ‘The Dark Knight’, Avengers Age of Ultron seems to have taken a dark turn. And I love it! Surely we don’t want to see the exact same film as the first Avengers. The stakes have to be raised and from what it looks in this trailer, it really has been. Using the rights that Disney possesses with their many properties, director Joss Whedon has chosen to use the creepiest version of ‘I've Got No Strings’ from Pinocchio I have ever heard. Whedon seems to have decided to take Ultron in the direction of being a puppet which has decided he doesn’t want to be controlled anymore and wants to fix the world as he sees fit. A very cool Terminator-like premise combined with the Iron Man technology and a very creepy villain makes this film look like a must watch for everyone. I loved the line that Ultron says about the Avengers wanting to protect the world but not wanting it to change. It is absolute genius.

Marvel's own Beauty and the Beast?

There are a few things I noticed about the trailer which I would like to discuss. The first one being, the Hulk and the Black Widow. There seems to be a connection there with scenes of them together and looking very much like a couple. If so, I love the Beauty and the Beast-ish element that would play into their story. Let’s be honest, no one really cared about the Hawkeye-Black Widow relationship. They never had that chemistry. But the Banner and Black Widow did, even in that first film. If this is true, their relationship will play very strongly into the emotional aspect of the film and I cannot wait for it.

Speaking of the Hulk, I absolutely adored Iron Man’s Hulk-buster armor. I do not know if they are fighting because Ultron is taking control of Iron Man’s suit or the Hulk has lost control but that just adds to the mystery in this film. The Hulk and Banner seems to be very key in the trailer and I would think that he and Stark may well be the main characters of this film. I also like the idea put out that the monster is just as afraid of Banner as Banner is of the monster. Banner will certainly continue to be the heart of the film and may well steal the show yet again as he did in the first Avengers film.

You haven't even seen my final form.

Let’s also talk about Ultron. A character that is always evolving, Joss Whedon has promised that Ultron will evolve in the film as well and we can see that early on with him forging his hand with what we can assume is adamantium. From the damaged and broken down Iron Man suit at the start to the fully evolved final form at the end, every incarnation of Ultron looks outstanding. Kudos to the designers and animators on that front. Also, James Spader does an amazing job voicing the very intimidating character. It was never how I imagined Ultron would sound but it is probably better than what I imagined. It isn’t the typical robot voice which would have been too similar to JARVIS. We know that the film will have nothing to do with the comic of the same name but whatever the case, Ultron makes for a worthy foe to the Avengers and a wonderful villain for a company that has had problems making very memorable villains other than Loki.

AKA my celebrity crush! Can't wait
to see her performance.

The parts of the film I am most interested in are the twins, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, or as they will probably have to be called in the film due to rights, Wanda and Pietro. Aaron Taylor-Johnson has a huge task ahead for this film due to that great Quicksilver scene in X-Men: Days of Future Past. This Quicksilver is different from that one though. He seems to have a darker past, which is more reminiscent of the Quicksilver of the comics, and as Johnson said in an interview, taking Quicksilver without the Scarlet Witch is like taking away part of the character. The element of Pietro’s sister will be the main difference of the two Quicksilvers. The Scarlet Witch, or Wanda, played by Elizabeth Olsen, AKA the other Olsen (soon to be the only interesting Olsen), seems to be a very important character based on this trailer. The scene of her screaming is throwing me for a loop as to what is happening. The Scarlet Witch will be a very important character with strong connections to both Quicksilver and the Vision which did not appear in the trailer. I cannot wait to see how these characters will turn out as they are the first characters that Joss Whedon himself is introducing to the Marvel universe other than Thanos.

Could he be playing Klaw?

The biggest reveal was that Andy Serkis, who played characters like Caesar in Planet of the Apes, Smiggle in Lord of the Rings and King Kong, is playing a normal human being rather than a motion capture character. He was brought on to help Mark Ruffalo improve on his Hulk performance and also to play a secret role. Many say, based on how he looks in the trailer, he may be playing Ulysses Klaw who is the arch-nemesis of the Black Panther. I, personally, have never read Black Panther’s comics and only know him from the cross-over events but if Klaw is really appearing in the film, one can easily assume fans’ requests have finally been answered as Black Panther may be coming to the Avengers. That broken Captain America shield at the end also may allude to Black Panther, as they would have to go to Wakanda to get the adamantium/vibranium they would need to fix it. Hopefully, this is true, as I have always liked the Black Panther character when he appeared in the comics and cannot wait for him to appear on the big screen.

Wanted to end with the most random
scene in the trailer.

In summary, the teaser was great in that is sums up the tone of the film. Keep in mind, this was just a teaser. It is not a full trailer that will show the story or anything like that. A teaser is meant to set the tone of the film and this one does it perfectly. A terrifying villain along with personal struggles and clashing egos makes one think not every Avenger is going to make it out alive at the end. Now one of my favourite teasers in a long time, I cannot wait for this film to show. Is it May yet?